Montana soldiers prepare for deployment to southwest Asia

HELENA – A number of Montana soldiers are preparing to deploy to Asia.

The Independent Record reported the families of 21 soldiers from across the state gathered at the Montana Army Aviation Support Facility in Helena on Thursday to wish their loved ones well before deployment.

The group of soldiers from the 1-189th General Support Aviation Battalion took part in a departure ceremony. The soldiers will train at Fort Hood in Texas before heading to southwest Asia to provide medical evacuation helicopter support.

The same unit returned from a previous deployment to southwest Asia in 2012.